What Have You Done?
by Shinderera
Summary: Toni is a young homeless woman with a no-nonsense attitude, but when she meets a man who dresses like a clown, she's thrown full throttle into chaos. Joker/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi all! Ok, so this lovely piece was written by yours truly and the WONDERFUL ukexchan(who chooses to remain silent), who graciously agreed to do a fic with me and even let me write about my obsession the Joker. I love her. You should love her too. Because she's amazing. Naruto fans, don't forget to check out her fics.

So the title is from the song What Have You Done? By Within Temptation. This is a Joker/OC pairing. Now...Joker isn't one for loveyness, but for those of you familiar with Harley Quinn and the comics, it is stated that he loves Harley as much as he capable. Which by normal standards, isn't much, but it's all he has. Now this character is not Harley, nor is she based on Harley at all. She's all her own, invented by the fantabulous ukexchan.

This will not be cliche, but as original as we can make it. It will be a love story, but of the darkest and most insane nature...do enjoy and please review and tell what you think!

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Toni tugged her thin hoodie tighter. It was a poor guard against the chilly wind, but it was all she had. It was late afternoon, the sun just beginning to set. The night chill was starting to set in and Toni did not want to spend another night outside.

She had been on the streets for three days now. She felt absolutely filthy from sleeping in gutters and trash cans. The garbage, though foul, provided a warm shield against the night cold and the wind, and a measure of privacy to bask in her shame. She had fallen so far.

She had been born in Gotham, in The Narrows. The big cities always had the richest of the rich, and where there were rich people, there were poor people. She had grown up in the slums of the Gotham, able to see the high rising buildings on the other side of the city. The buildings had always stood tall and proud as if mocking her, saying that the green was very much greener on the other side and she would never be able to know just how green. And she hated the buildings and the buildings' inhabitants for it, and they hated her right back. Not just her, but everyone like her. The dregs and misfits of society, cast away and spat upon.

That was why she was here, standing outside of a Quikie Mart, driven by hate and its desire to consume her. She had tried to love and to forget how the city had raped her, but that had ended with her sleeping in her first dumpster; it hadn't been of her own volition then. She had been dumped, literally, and not without the wounds to prove it.

She found herself gently probing the bruise on her cheek at that thought. It was still sore, but she'd live. It'd taken on a sickish yellow color that spoke of healing, but there was still a numb ache there, a reminder of why she hated all the lights and fancy cars, and the tangible promise that it would never be hers.

Her stomach grumbled in protest. She needed food. She was clinging to her stomach now in a mixture of pain and determination. The city had raped her, so she'd rape it right back. She'd rape the stores of their food and the buildings of their shelter, and the people, if she could of whatever she could because they deserved it. Because they had done this to her.

So when she picked up a large rock that had once been a part of the now torn and dilapidated sidewalk, she felt no remorse as she hurled it full force, smashing the large window of the Quickie Mart. The alarm shrilled and she winced at the sound, but had no time to waste. Stepping over the wall and jagged remains of the window, she hurriedly grabbed every bag of chips and candy bar she could, stuffing them into her hoodie. She could hear the police sirens.

Panic raced through her body. She cluthced her precious cargo and bolted, leaping over the broken window fragments and darting down the street, dodging between buildings so they wouldn't be able to catch her with their cars.

Once she could no longer hear the sirens, she allowed herself to relax. The police weren't that big of a problem in The Narrows. Only a handful of cops actually even patrolled the streets in this part of Gotham. No one cared enough basically. The thinking of the general public was: let the filth rot, they brought it upon themselves. And so, rookies were sent in for a specified amount of time as rite of passage.

In this case, Toni was relieved. Her legs couldn't carry her anymore and she rested against the side of an apartment building, breathing heavily and smiling faintly at her small victory. She was weak with hunger and exhaustion, and she wouldn't have been able to outrun the cops for very long if they intended to pursue her, but they wouldn't. They never did, not here. She was safe here in the shadows of a forgotten society. She was a shadow among shadows, a ghost long forgotten and never cared about.

Not dwelling on it anymore, she dug into her hoodie and pulled out her loot. Not even caring what kind they were or pondering their obvious state of expiration, she tore open a bag of chips and devoured them greedily. When she had eaten all she had managed to steal, she was horribly thirsty and regretted not grabbing some iced tea or something. She missed iced tea.

Now that her hunger was satiated, her only problem was finding somewhere else to sleep that did not have someone's rotting dinner from last Tuesday in it. Leaving the emptied food bags on the ground, she stood up and looked around. It was getting darker now and she wanted to be off the streets (or safely in a dumpster) soon.

She pushed herself off the side of the building, and looked around with a dull sort of disinterest as to where she had gone in her impromptu escape. The buildings were barely standing around her and the alley stank of week old piss, maggots, and rat droppings. It was virtually indistinguishable from any other alley in The Narrows, or it would have been to the untrained eye. This alley, however, was very special. A door hung slightly open, barely clinging to its hinges. She looked up and down the alley as though the shadows held some answer to a question she hadn't dared to ask.

With a cautious uncertainty, she walked forward and pushed the door open just enough to peek inside. The smell hit her first: burning trash, old condoms, and blood. It was dark inside, but her eyes adjusted well enough to notice that no one else was around, so she stepped in tentatively. She could hear movement above her, the distinct sounds of sex, which she ignored as best she could. They were busy and wouldn't notice her. Light shone from under a door, and she could hear as people spoke in low whispers. That worried her.

She had identified the place as a crack house as soon as she'd pushed open the door and peeked inside. It had the a kind of emptiness about it that made it obvious something was hidden within. The door cracked open as though it were inviting, promising that nothing questionable would be going on with open doors. She had to laugh at that. The most terrible things she had witnessed had occurred in open places, where people cared less. There was a practiced obviousness about the place that made it easily identifiable, but it was a shelter, and it was better than a trashcan.

She walked up to the door and pushed it open hesitantly, slow enough not to startle the men beyond the door, but quickly enough not to seem as though she had intended to sneak past undetected. The conversation continued without interruption as she pushed her way into the room. A few of the men eyed her curiously, but most seemed as though they had almost been expecting her, as though she belonged there just as much as they did.

She wasn't sure what exactly the conversation in the corner was about, but she guessed they were making plans for new shipments or discussing punishments for those who were past due on payments or some such business. The kind of conversation a criminal in a movie would have with his partner. She knew it was better just not to know, so she made her way through the room to see if there was a way out into a hallway or up the stairs, to find a room for herself away from all of this.

A hand reached out and squeezed her ass from behind her. She spun around with wide eyes and backed away from the man who had so shamelessly molested her. He smiled lecherously and took a swig of something that smelled poisonous.

"Skittish. I like that." He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, watching her as though she was some kind of side show.

He was big. Muscled and intimidating, and she had made it clear that she was the vulnerable type, easily dominated. She hated that about herself, that she was so easily manipulated. She wanted to shout at him, but she knew better. He'd think she was begging for it, so she just scurried away from him, hoping he wouldn't bother pursuing her.

Of course, nothing ever went right for her. Later she would look back on this moment and see it as rather cliche. The man grabbed her, fully intent on violating her. She fought back as much as she could, but she was small and somewhat frail from lack of nutrition and he was big and stronger than most. Naturally she had no chance. Of course. She squeezed her eyes shut as her body was thrown to the hard ground. She heard him scuffling around, and then felt his body lay on top of hers, his weight bearing down on her most suffocating her with it weight and the way it surrounded her.

A loud bang sounded through the building. Even a few upstairs peeked around the corner to see what was going on. The man atop Toni shuffled around, elbowing her as he pulled his massive body off of her to stand up.

"Who the-_What_ the fuck are you?" Said her almost-rapist. Toni rolled over onto her stomach and looked up. Her attacker's question made more sense now. This had to be the oddest man she had ever seen.

"Why hello everyone!" His voice was nasally and almost comical sounding, matching his comical persona. "Uh…you don't know me, not yet. I'm The Joker," He pressed his hand to his chest in a most gentlemanly fashion as he introduced himself. His tongue swiped his bottom lip, smearing a bit of the red paint.

He grinned and continued as though he had some important monologue to recite before a crowd that would inevitably not appreciate it. "Aaand I'm something of a... _buisness_ man you see." He sneered at the words as if they were an insult. "I've come to...offer you a, ah…_deal_. Now this is a veeery special offer. Once in a lifetime!" He giggled a little to himself at his own private little joke. "Not just anyone can apply. No, no. I need..._special individuals-sah_." His tone took on a more sinister turn.

Toni turned away in a state of severe disinterest. If this man was a businessman, which she sincerely doubted, he had nothing to say to her. He probably hadn't even noticed her, sitting on the floor looking flustered, and obviously violated. If it wasn't a business man, and was instead a common criminal who had not only lost all his marbles, but shoved them up his own ass, just to render them forever tainted with the stench of his current state of sanity, she felt no need to continue listening to his psychotic ramblings. She needed to get out. She needed to find a place to hide out until morning.

She stood up slowly and looked around the room, obviously uninterested in the crazed man stealing the attention of every other occupant. It was obvious why they were all so enthralled. He was dressed in a flamboyant business suit that only added to the clown make-up smeared haphazardly across his face. The glimpse she had of his face, left the imprint of dark eyes and a shit eating grin in her mind. It was as though he was staring at her from the inside, as though he saw _who_ she was rather than _what_ she was. It was more than a little unnerving.

She tried to ignore him as he spoke, but he was captivating. He had a strange charm to him that drew her interest, but not her attention. She was determined to find a way out of this room and a place to sleep more safely.

"Now, I'm going to need a, ah, ensemble, yes, an _ensemble_." He grinned, rubbing his hands together as he spoke. "You'll be paid of course." He waved his hand dismissively as though that were not only obvious, but unimportant. That, however, was what caught Toni's attention. He licked his lips once more, as though considering his next statement. "But I'm looking for very… specific people." His grin widened once more, the scars on his face making the grin impossibly wide. "Morally _questionable_ so to speak." He let out a small giggle. He was mocking them. They were beneath him, and he was more than aware of that fact; he reveled in it and took pride in rubbing it in. "You're type." He gestured around the room. "But, ah, I'll need you think for _yourselves_, and you'll need to… take orders well." He was practically clapping his hands together in excitement at this point. "I need people who can, ah, do the unthinkable, but not think the undoable if you know what I mean."

Toni rolled her eyes. "You want a walking paradox." She mumbled to herself.

His glare let her know that he had heard her. "And what do you call yourself, _darling_?" He reached hand up to her bruised face, and smiled as she winced at the contact.

She looked away from him, and away from the implication. She had heard this before. She was being too bold for a girl who let herself get pushed around. She was the walking paradox he had been describing.

"A whore with a brain? That sounds like a paradox to me!" He cackled at his own joke and pulled his hand away, as though he had just realized that she had some highly contagious disease.

Toni fixed her own glare on him now, but could not think of anything suitably insulting enough to spit back at him. So she settled for spitting _on_ him. Directly into his painted face. The black around the his eyes had already started running, spreading into the creases of skin caused by grinning too widely too often, and the white paint was flaking off, now that white paint was running as well, making the corner of his painted smile droop down slightly into a frown.

"_That_," he said while wiping away the saliva, along with some of his paint, with a purple gloved hand. "Is disgusting." He spoke as if he were referring to a bug. With a quick little smile that almost seemed to have no malicious intent, Joker roughly backhanded Toni. His hand moved with speed and force, but when he made contact he seemed almost surprised to have hit something, as though he were just making a hand gesture and her face got in the way. The force sent her to the ground, further damaging her already bruised cheek. She cried out in both pain and surprise, her hand tentatively touching her injured face. God that hurt. She looked at her fingers and saw blood. She was scared now.

"Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are?!" A young man with short hair and raggedy clothes and went by the name of Greg shouted. Joker dubbed him 'An Example'.

The ramblings of a crazed lunatic were one thing. They, as junkies, saw it all the time. But this was starting to get out of hand. They had all come here for a shelter, from the cold and from the violence. It was a shithole, but it was haven nonetheless. And though this man didn't know Toni, didn't know what sort of person she was, and despite that he wasn't a model citizen himself, he still refused to sit back while some psycho waltzed in and started beating on women. He simply wouldn't stand for it.

"_Mee_?" Joker turned to look at the Example, who marched right up to him like some goddamned _hero_. Joker resisted the urge to laugh in his face. He wanted to see what his little heroic example would do first.

Greg shoved the Joker. He wasn't a huge man but he was easily bigger than Joker. "Huh! Not so tough now are you? Not when you're up against a _man_ and not some helpless woman!" Greg shoved Joker again.

Joker rolled his eyes. Ok this was getting annoying. He reached in his coat and whipped a pistol, shooting Greg in the foot in less than two seconds. Someone screamed out in fear as Greg screamed in pain and doubled over, blood staining his worn-out shoes and leaking onto the dirty wooden floor. Without missing a beat, Joker punched him in the face, sending him onto his back. Well, now that _that_ was taken care of..Enough fucking around.

"Now...You all can sit here," He gestured to the terrified remaining occupants of the room with his gun. "..wallowing in your own pathetic misery," he smacked his lips together. "Kinda of like you're friend here." He gave Greg a kick in the ribs, the man grunted at the pain. He strolled around the room with a little skip in his step, humming a tune as if he had forgotten what he was saying.

Joker looked at the people now. Really looked at them. A black man with corn rows and sharp angular features looked at Joker with more than just a little interest. Joker knew, just by looking at him, that he wanted out of this dump. That he was willing to do anything-even kill-if it bettered him. Perfect.

Another man, young and thin like a reed with reddish hair looked scared, a small bottle of most likely illegal drugs clutched tightly in his hand. Scared, but determined. Willing. Desperate. _Excellent. _Joker strolled over to him, yanking the pill bottle from his hand.

"_Dreaming_ of granduer," He resumed as if he had never stopped. "Through your little..._helpers-ah_." He shook the bottle, rattling the contents in the young man's face. "_Or_…you can come with me…and..I'll show you _**real**_," He growled. "Granduer. Real _power_. Not this...this_ fa__**k**__e_...haze you are living in. So...who's in?"

The red haired man nodded softly. Joker grinned, showing his garish yellow teeth, his scars, that the red haired youth hadn't noticed before, stretching grotesquely. He looked positively demonic. The other man with the corn rows took a step forward. A silent "I'm in". Oh…this was too good.

A third man stood up, silently accepting the proposition. He was unremarkable, thin, dark hair, with a sickly aura as though he were dying of cancer or suffering from the effects of an overdose. The flashy stranger chose not to acknowledge his existence, adopting the philosophy that if you ignore it, it'll go away.

Toni grinned to herself. He was mocking them, and they were taking the bait blindly. It was insulting to her, to be paired with these people, and spoken for like this. So, she spoke for herself, a hint of laughter in her voice. "I'm in." She announced, mocking both those who decided to join the lunatic, and the lunatic himself. She was making a statement. She wasn't one of the common criminals hiding out here, selling illegal substances, and hoping, on some buried level, that the drugs they pumped themselves with would kill them one day soon so they could be done with it. She also wasn't like this Joker guy either with his flashy flamboyance, and his superior attitude. She was her own separate category. She didn't belong here, but she certainly didn't belong with some nut job taking orders.

She stood up slowly from her spot on the floor to look Joker in the face, to let him see the mockery there, the smile spreading across her own features as she mocked him, let him feel what it was like to be treated that way, as though he were inferior to her for no reason other than she deemed it so. It was in fact comical, comical in the way that true things are. That was how all of those asinine rich bastards held their power, the simply claimed to be more important, better and so they were.

Joker turned to her, eyebrows raised in half interested inquiry. "Hm?" He asked in Toni's general direction, as though he couldn't bear to allow himself to acknowledge her presence. "I swear sometimes…" He chuckled, as though telling an anecdote to the three men who had accepted his offer. "Sometimes I think I hear woman talking to me, begging me to pull their ovaries through their nostrils or something." He a paused, smiling and spinning about the room as though considering how horrendous the décor was for the first time since he'd entered the place. "It's really quite unnerving."

He suddenly lost interest in the way the room lacked any sort of real style or sophistication, and clapped his hands together in front of his face, bowing slightly. "On to the business!" He declared, as though he had never strayed off topic. "You're now working for me." He pointedly addressed only the men who had accepted his offer. "And the rest of these…" He looked around the room in disgust. "_things_…" He gestured to those who had not accepted the offer. "Well, they bother me. Make them go…away." He smiled and watched intently.

There was no need to ask what he had meant by 'away'. They were to be disposed of, simply enough. The three men went about killing their companions with a decided lack of compassion. One pulled out a gun and shot two down without a second thought. Another, stabbed the man sitting next to him in the neck and then moved on to do the same with one of the other occupants of the room.

Joker let out an amused laugh and clapped his hands together. This was better than porn! Well… almost… in a way. They were very different kinds of entertainment.

The man Joker had ignored stepped up with a greedy sort of anticipation in his eyes, and picking up a knife from one of the corpses, and approaching Toni with a hungry gaze. The laughter stopped then, and a gunshot rang out. The man approaching her clutched his hand in horror.

"Now, you can't just go around killing people." Joker explained to the injured man, the way a parent would explain to a child before punishment. "That's just…" He inhaled deeply through his nose and looked up at the ceiling as though searching for the right word. "Well, it's wrong." He punctuated the statement with another gunshot, this time it was lethal.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to all of our reviewers. And ukexchan will be breaking her silence this chapter she says "Hi.." A verbose one, that one. Anyway, do enjoy our next installment.

Disclaimer: Because we forgot...I forgot...though really..it's FANFICTION...it really goes without saying..so obviously we don't own anything..

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Toni stared with wide eyes as the man that had been trying to knife her fell over dead. She had never seen someone killed so close to her like that. She had seen cops and junkies shooting at each other from afar, but never right in her face. That coupled with the fact she had just narrowly escaped death due to some crazy guy dressed like a clown from hell saving her..well...she felt a little dizzy.

Her cheek was still throbbing, but she barely noticed it at the moment. She watched the man's blood bleed out of him, forming a slowly growing red puddle. It's like a movie, she thought. It didn't seem real. It could've so easily have been her blood on the floor, staining the dirty wood.

She didn't know how long she was watching the pool of blood. She was in a daze, and was only vaguely aware of someone approaching her. She turned to see who it was but moved too slowly and so didn't catch the black eyes and carved grin in time. If she had, she would've had the chance to run away. But before she could move, a gloved hand roughly grabbed her auburn hair and forcibly pulled her to him.

"Fuckin'-!" She tried to pry the hand off of her, but he was too strong. "Let go of me!" She kicked her leg out, but missed since she could not fully see him. His hand twisted in her hair, pulling at the roots painfully.

"A-ta-ta. Behave." He brought her closer to him, uncomfortably close. Close enough that she could smell him. Grease, filth and gunpowder, with just a dash of gasoline. It was revolting. His face only a few inches away from her own. Now she could see him. Perfectly. The scars, emphasized by the red paint. She vaguely wondered how he got them, when the mouth of his gun gently touched her good cheek.

"You're a little spitfire, aren't you? Hmm?" She glared at him, but said nothing due to teh fact that there was a gun touching her face. He laughed at her. She winced, the loud and obnoxious sound piercing her ears. She could visibly see his yellow teeth and cringed in disgust.

Toni calmed herself. She had been caught off guard and in a state of shock. She was going about this all wrong. He liked this, the struggle she put up, it was his reason for keeping her alive in the first place. She was the entertainment. The jester for the man dressed as a clown, the whole thing was a joke. She straightened up, and stopped craning her neck to lessen the pain of his pulling her hair. She wasn't going to be his pet. She let herself drift away then, like she had done so many times before in situations like this.

While, this situation was unique in many regards, it was similar enough to her past that she knew how to handle herself. She wouldn't cry, should wouldn't scream, she wouldn't beg him to stop, she'd just let him do whatever it was he wanted until he got bored. This was the first time with him, so it would be harder than usual; the first time was always the hardest. They always tried to force the emotion out the first time, but it'd get easier after that. Eventually he'd come to recognize that empty look in her eyes that plainly stated that she wasn't present. She was off somewhere else now, in her own little made up world where things weren't quite so bad.

She could feel the gun against her cheek, the cooling metal of a gun recently fired, hot enough to hurt, but not enough to burn. It was an odd sensation, and she would have found it strangely exciting if she had realized she felt it at all, but it was just a distant sensation, like a dream you're just waking up from, but the traces of that far away place are still barely present in your mind. It was as though she simply remembered feeling it a long time ago. He was talking, barking orders and laughing, but she couldn't hear him. She understood that words were being spoken, but she couldn't make them out, like having a conversation under water. Everything was distorted beyond recognition.

The other men moved around the room, she wasn't sure what they were doing, but it didn't matter. None of this mattered, she had fallen right back into the same situation she had be trying to run from for years.

That face appeared in front of her then, that haunting face, the dark eyes and the frighteningly cheerful smile, she closed her eyes to shield herself from the image, but the face remained behind her own eyelids. She couldn't shut him out, and she felt a bit of panic well up in her belly. She felt as though she was going to wretch up all the food she had managed to eat earlier.

"You'll be coming with me." His voice echoed in her mind swimming around in her thoughts as all the other sounds of the room became that distant distortion once more, and she was left with that phrase ringing in her head. She was aware that he was caressing her with the barrel of his gun now. Each strangely gentle stroke seemed to burn her skin, though the metal had cooled now. He was admiring her, looking at her as though she was some grotesque piece of art, the kind that reflects the true nature of the view so accurately that it makes them sick to stare, but they can't pull their eyes away. And then they were walking.

Toni stifled a grunt at the dulling pain of her hair being pulled. Joker still hadn't let her go and was literally dragging her by the hair like some kind of caveman. It was difficult to walk like this, but she didn't say anything, just went along. All she could think of was how much she hated this man right now. For being such a fucking weirdo, for saving her, for taking her with him.

She remembered earlier how she had said that she would join his little gang when he offered money. He had mocked her, and in response to that mockery she had offered a mock acceptance. It was funny in that humorless way how things had turned around. She didn't particularly want to go with him, and he was forcing her to anyway. It was like whatever she wanted, he did the complete opposite. He was still mocking her.

Outside there was a car which Joker had stolen a while ago. It was a good car, sturdy and the original owners were dead in a ditch, so they couldn't report it stolen.

"You." Joker pointed to the young reddish haired man. Mistakenly thinking Joker was asking for a name the man replied:

"Uh Roger...uh Sir." He fumbled over his words. This was still new to him, and weird, he wasn't sure what to expect from a man that dressed so..outlandishly.

"That's nice Bill, now get in the car. You get to be my chauffer!" He giggled a little. Toni rolled her eyes, seriously wishing he would let go of her hair already. Roger said nothing, a wise choice, and climbed in to the driver's seat. The second man, with the effeminate features and braided hair began getting into the back seat, assuming boss-man would want shotgun.

He, like his new partner was mistaken. Joker, still holding tightly onto Toni's hair, shoved his gun into her hands. She fumbled, not expecting him to just hand his gun to her. Was he stupid? Now that he had a free hand, he grabbed the back collar of the man's jacket and pushed him away from the door. For some reason that seemed easier than just saying something.

The man tripped and almost fell down, but caught himself by grabbing the backseat door he had opened, making it look like he was holding the door for the Joker.

"Ah! Thank you James!" Joker said mockingly, making up a name for him. The dangerous leer in his boss's eyes kept him quiet. Joker pushed Toni into the car, finally releasing her hair, before climbing in after her. 'James' closed the door, and got in the front. Toni scooted all the way to the other end of the seat, getting as far away from the Joker as possible.

"...It might ah… _help_ if you uh..." He smacked his lips, "_started_ the car Bill." Joker said as if he were speaking to an infant. Bill, still not mentioning that that wasn't his name just nodded.. He didn't have any keys, and was afraid to ask. He just sat there with wide eyes looking as if he was about to die. A tap on his shoulder got his attention. His new partner pointed to the ignition. Bill sighed in relief, seeing the keys already there. He turned the keys, starting the car.

Joker dug into an inside pocket within his purple trench coat and pulled out a piece if paper. He leaned forward, slapped Bill's head to get his attention and handed him the paper.

Bill looked at it. It was an address. An address he was quite familiar with and wanted to avoid. The Joker couldn't honestly want to go there...could he? He looked in the rearview mirror and saw the Joker's eyes meet his. He was quite serious.

"Well...get going."

Toni, still in a bit of a haze, found herself fingering the gun menacingly. If he was going to mock her, well, why the hell not? She wasn't a toy, and he had to learn a lesson, or just die, that worked too.

She sat in thinking quietly about what to do next. She was sick of this, of being an object, and she refused to be treated like one for even another moment, but killing someone. She didn't think she had it in her to take a life, with few exceptions. She'd be more than willing to kill her old boyfriends, all those men that hit her, victimized her, and made her forget that she was a person.

Joker sat watching her in a giddy amusement as her fingers moved over the gun as though it were her last tie to sanity. Her hands worshiped the artistry of it, and it was more than a little amusing to see her losing herself to the darkness within her. She certainly was interesting, something of a marvel.

Joker reached a hand out to brush the stray hair out of her face, to get a better look at the emotion hidden behind those eyes, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. That was the wrong move.

Toni had been so caught up in her thoughts, she had nearly forgotten where she was, a hand brushed her face, all too similar to all those times she had been admired before she was beaten down and made to remember her place. The gun was pressed to Joker's face in an instant, her finger fondling the trigger as she fought to remember what exactly was going on. Bill, who had been casting nervous glances at his new boss through the mirror, let out a quiet curse when he saw the girl hold a gun to the Joker.

He pulled over and stopped the car, figuring it best to let the scene play out, especially since they were almost to their destination. He wasn't sure who he was more worried about. He current (hopefully) paying boss, or the girl he had somewhat kidnapped.

"Honestly, dollface—" He began, in a mocking tone, but he was cut off.

"Shut the fuck up!" She screamed. That face had burned itself into her thoughts, the smile was mocking her despair, the eyes staring into her. And then the mocking voice came, and she couldn't stand it anymore. Her fingers squeezed the trigger, and her eyes screwed shut in anticipation.

_Click._

Something wasn't right. She squeezed again.

_Click._

"Honestly, dollface," the Joker began again. "did you really think I'd hand you a loaded gun?"


	3. Chapter 3

Okey, chappy 3. I rhymed! Ha. Ok yeah, firstly I would like to point out that I love writing the inflections in Joker's voice...I may be over doing it. Do let me know. And do let US know if you guys are liking it. Reviews are like crack for us...so please...help our addiction

We had alot of fun writing this, so we hope you'll have fun reading it!

Ukexchan: Thank you.

* * *

Toni fought the urge to scream in frustration, instead opting to throw the gun at Joker's face, he didn't bother to dodge, just let it smack him. His eyebrows raised and he licked his lips as though to say 'Are you quite finished?' Toni just crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back, holding on to the last bit of defiance she still had in her.

He turned his attention to Bill. "Is there a, ah, reason we're not moving?" his tone was curious but there was a threatening undertone that resulted in the car resuming its heading in the direction of their destination. There was a long silence in which Joker stretched out comfortably, purposely moving just a little too close to Toni in order to give himself more room to stretch out. When she scooted just a little further away his eyes widened as if seeing her for the first time.

"Oh, uh, hi there." He smirked, and seemed to remember something of importance. "Oh, I suppose we have a bit of talking to do considering you just tried to paint the backseat with my brain matter." He sat up and turned to her. "I don't really... _appreciate_ that by the way, not the best way to make friends, and I've been so nice." He chuckled to himself. "I'm only trying to help you, ya know."

Toni snorted at that. "Yeah, the same way everyone tries to help."

That seemed to actually offend him. His eyes narrowed, and his hand raised, as though threatening to hit her. The blow never came, however. His hand just hovered in the air for a moment his fingers wiggling as though resisting the urge to do her bodily harm. "I, dumpling, am not like everyone el_se_." His hand dropped back to his side, and he smacked his lips together, his mood shifting back to being mockingly cheerful.

"I like you." He said after a moment, though the words seemed forced as though he had a physically negative reaction to stringing them together, but once they left his mouth he seemed to adjust to the truth behind them, whatever vague form of truth it was. "You're…" he paused searching for the appropriate word. "You're_ passiona__**te**_. **Angry**." He growled. "It's good. You just, ah, need to learn where to dire**ct** thaaat aaanger." He winked at her, letting out a rumbling chuckle from deep in his throat, it was unsettling.

"And I suppose you know exactly who I ought to be angry with…" She rolled her eyes, and looked out the window, contemplating just opening the door and letting herself fall out, it would suck less than being trapped in a car with this lunatic for another second.

He leaned closer to her, uncomfortably close, and reached a hand out to touch her cheek where the yellow bruise that was still healing. She flinched, but didn't move to stop him. "Whoever did this to you,_ that's _who you ought to be angry with." His face was so close that she could feel his breath on her skin and the smell of it was making her ill.

"Thiiis _city_ and all these _people_ who think they're better than you, _theeey've_ done it, and you have every right to be angry." He let out another growl of a laugh. "But it's soooo much better to get _even_."

"And I suppose you're going to help me get even?" Her tone was bored, and her face made it obvious that she didn't trust a word of what he was saying, but internally she knew he was right. He didn't need to know that though.

"No, no." He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'm just going to show you _how-ah_." He patted her swollen cheek and sat back, grinning to himself as though he had just won some kind of battle. The rest of the trip was silent, and Toni was left contemplating what exactly to do with herself in this situation.

He was crazy, but he was right. She should be angry at the people who had oppressed her instead of being angry at other people in the same situation as herself. He was offering a chance for her to exact her vengeance on the people who had done this to her, and she couldn't very well turn her back on her only opportunity and go back to the way things were, but she refused to take orders, and she really didn't think she'd be able to kill anyone. She didn't want to be the kind of person that could kill others. This was all so frustrating, but in the back of her mind she knew what she was going to do. He had offered her payment and a chance at freedom, and she was not going to pass that up.

The car jerked to a stop outside a building Toni hadn't ever seen before. Joker sat up, and hopped out of the car, almost skipping to the trunk. He hit the top of it, and waited for Bill to pop it open. There was a clicking sound and the trunk of the car popped open. Joker lifted the trunk open, and began rummaging around inside. He produced three more guns, handing one to each of his three new play things. He reloaded his own gun, and pulled out a box of garbage bags.

Toni was marveled at the nonchalant way he just handed her a gun, especially after that little incident in the car earlier. Unless...Narrowing her eyes, she pulled the trigger. Yep. Empty. What a surprise. She sighed.

"Now," he said smiling.. "we're going to have a bit of _fun-ah_." He stuffed the gun into his jacket, preferring only to use it if absolutely necessary. He enjoyed his knives more. Going into a different pocket he pulled out a small, but sharp knife. He smacked his lips, seeming as if he was about to say something and was choosing his words carefully.

"You. With the tits." He pointed at Toni with his knife. "You get to be my lit_tle _mes_sen_ger." He said in an entirely too cheery tone. Toni scoffed, crossing her arms, feeling small at being pointed out as the only girl. And not at all appreciating it.

"Toni." She said firmly. She had a name, she did not want to be referred to by her female parts, thank you very much. Joker who had been pulling a garbage bag out of the box, paused and looked at her. He raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"...Toni? _That_..is a _boy's_ name." His voice was shaking with restrained laughter. Toni tightened her arms, wanting to disappear inside of herself. Why did he have to pick on her? She hated being on the spot and now the two other men who had 'signed' up into the Joker's gang were looking at her with little smiles on their faces, silently joining in on the "Mock Toni Fest". She wanted to smack them.

"So?" She replied, avoiding looking at him or the other two goons. She actually liked her name damnit. Besides, it wasn't like she was the only girl on the face of the Earth named Toni. Asshole.

"_So_...Is there something you're not telling us.._.Toni_? Are those little mangos of yours even _real_?" He skipped over to her, the garbage bag laying forgotten in the open trunk of the car. Toni's eyes widened in shock and humiliation. How dare he!

"It's, ah, _okay_ y'know.. I'm not judg_men_tal. I wouldn't have a..._problem_ with a, ah haha, cross dresser in my em_ploy_." Bill and James snickered and Toni cast them a quick glare before turning to the object of her torment.

"Fuck. You." Instead smacking of Toni, probably against her still bruised cheek, like she expected, Joker burst into loud and obnoxious laughter. Jumping up and down like a child and hopping around. Toni's face flushed with embaressment. She was more than glad when his little laughing fit died down.

"As I was saying..._Toni,_" she was starting to wish he would just make up a name for her, like he had done with the two men. "You get to be my little _messenger_." At this point he had walked around her and was standing behind her, making her feel apprehensive. "What does that entail you ask?" He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her body, though she didn't know what she was supposed to be seeing. He was still holding his knife and blade was almost touching her, now making her feel more than apprehensive. "Why it's quite simple Sugarplum. You see that building there?" He pointed to a building across the street that had no windows and a single door. She nodded.

"Good. Now, you're going to go up there and knock. They'll answer and you'll saaay," He licked his lips. "'We have the Joker.' Try to say with...**confidence**, _hmm_?" She nodded again, not completely getting it. "Get going." He snarled, all false pleasantness in his voice gone. He shoved her away. She was more than happy to get away from him.

Toni crossed the street, stuffing the empty gun he had given her into her pants. She supposed the intimidation of having it was enough, though she had no idea what was going to happen. She reached the door and knocked only once. They did indeed answer, two big men in expensive looking suits. Well to-do gangsters.

"Uh...We have the uhm…the Joker." It felt so...weird saying it when it was in fact completely the other way around. And these men made her feel so small. They looked at each other with surprise on their faces and then back at her.

"Show us." She nodded. She was starting to feel like a bobble head. Toni led them back to the car, feeling very odd about this whole thing. And somewhat intimidated by the two large men flanking her.

She was starting to feel nervous when she didn't see the Joker. Where did he go? Wasn't he supposed to be there? After all, wasn't that the point of bringing these two gangsters over here? Oh God...they were gonna kill her if they thought she was lying! She was beginning to panic now.

"So where is he?" Asked the man on her right. Oh God…she was going to die…

"Uhh-"

"He's in here." Said James.. Toni could've hugged him. But wait—he was where? The two men left her and went over to James and Bill. They were all crowding around the open trunk. No. Way. She darted over, needing to see what exactly this lunatic was doing. It was dark out now, and therefore hard to see, but from what she could make out the Joker was indeed laying in the trunk wrapped in a black garbage bag. What the hell?

The two men picked him up and started carrying him back over to the building. James closed the trunk and the three of them followed.

They all walked into the ominous building and Toni felt a surge of excitement. She was in a gangster's—probably a notorious and powerful gangster's—hideout. Not as an object, a play thing, but...as another gangster. It was…different, but she couldn't deny how unbelievably powerful she felt. She knew that she was getting a little ahead of herself and getting way to into this. But it was fun, so who cared?

"Gambol, we've got some people here claiming they killed the Joker." Toni looked around. So this is what a notorious gangster's hide-away looked like. It looked like a crappy pool house.

The two men carrying the Joker tossed his body onto a pool table. Toni hoped that it hurt. The leader, Toni assumed that this was Gambol, ripped the plastic covering off of Joker's face revealing that it was indeed him. Toni had heard the name Gambol before. Gambol was drug lord; she had never bought from him, but she knew people who had.

So she was actually in a fairly well known and wanted gangster's abode. But why though? What could her new boss that looked like a scarred up version of 'It' want with Gambol?

"Dead? That's five-hundred." Five-hundred? Five-hundred what? Dollars? That didn't seem like a whole lot. But before she could think about it further, Joker jumped out, flipped out his knife and had Gambol in a headlock with his knife pressed against his face before she could blink.

"How about alive?" Bill and James already had Gambol's men on the ground, their guns pressed against their temples. Toni hadn't acted fast enough. It was all happening too quick. She had never been in a situation like this. The previous elated, powerful feeling faded fast and the hard reality came crashing down. She could very well die right now. She was not in control of this situation, she had no power here, she was playing games while this was very serious. She suddenly felt very small. Again, she was the object, the play thing. Joker hadn't told her what was going on, he had given her just the barest taste—just a suggestion really—of power, and she had accepted the joke all too willingly.

The Joker had offered her freedom, and she had believed him for some reason. He had offered her a chance to get out, and she was all too willing to just accept that. Toni found herself feeling angry with the situation. She stood there with a useless gun, while the men did the real work. She was still the object. The play thing, and she hated it. She found herself clutching the unloaded gun in impotent rage. She should have seen it coming. He had told her plainly. _Did you really expect me to hand you a loaded gun?_ She had missed his true meaning then, but now, in this room fearing for her life she understood what he had actually meant.

A third gangster came up behind her. She screamed, too lost in her own displeasure to notice him. She ducked down and crawled through his spread legs, trying to get away. This was all too dangerous, and she didn't want to die playing the pawn in some psychopath's twisted idea of a joke. The third ganster opted to forget her in favor of saving his boss. She took this chance to run away. Fuck this.

"Toni get him!" Shouted Bill, he couldn't do anything, he was holding a guy already, as was James.. Toni had a choice to make now. Run away and remain weak or...

Gambol remained still, fear clearly expressed on his face. For a brief second he looked hopeful, but that was quickly dashed when Toni jumped onto the gangster, knocking him down with her weight. She pulled her gun out and pressed it to the back of his head. He didn't know it was empty. It was just like Joker had told her, the illusion was all she needed. If the rich were better because they claimed to be better, then she'd be powerful because she damn well said she was.

Gambol was facing the Joker and couldn't see what was happening, but he could hear it, and once he heard his last man hit the ground he knew he was fucked.

Joker cast Toni a brief glance, something akin to amusement. She glared at him. He probably couldn't wait to laugh at her for freaking out and nearly running away.

"Say Gambol...wanna know how I got these scars?" Gambol of course said nothing. Joker nodded for him. Toni, as well as James and Bill all looked up in curiosity. They certainly wanted to know.

"My father waaas..a drinker. And a _fiend_." Toni listened, hardly paying any attention to the man she was sitting on.

"One night, he goes off _craaziiier_ than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that." Gambol said nothing, probably more concerned about the knife in his face than his little story.

"Not. One. _Bit_." He snarled. Toni closed her eyes. She could hear the pain in his voice and was beginning to understand him a little more. She hated him less.

"So! Me watching," he says first, licking his lips. "He takes the knife to her, _laughing_ while he does it." He licked his lips again. Toni was begining to notice that he did that more regularly when he was excited. "He turns to me and says," Joker rolled his eyes, as if he couldn't believe the audacity of his father even now.

"_**Why so serious-ah**_?" Toni shuddered. "Comes at me with the knife. _**Why so serious**_? Sticks the blade in my mouth." Joker did so to Gambol, slipping the knife into mouth, pressing the sharp edge against his cheek.

"_**Let's put a smile on that face-ah**_." Toni cringed. She could feel it coming and didn't want to watch it happen. "And theeeeen." She knew it was...utterly girly of her, but she could feel the tears sting her eyes.

Joker turned to one of Gambol's men, his face twisted in horror.

"Why so serious?" Toni was no longer watching, but she could hear Gambol's body hit the ground.

"Now," back to business. "Our operation is small, but there's a lot of room for..." He was walking around the room and picked up a pool stick. "_Aggressive_ expansion!" His voice growled and then jumped octaves within a single sentence. He approached the three men being held down by his own two men and girl after circling the room.

"Now which of you gentlemen would like to join our _team_?" Toni looked up at him. He made it sound like it was a good thing.

"There's only one spot open right now," He snapped the pool stick in half on his knee. "Sooo we're gonna have…_try-outs_." He looked at the two halves, inspecting their points, and then dropped one on the ground.

"Make it fast." And then he walked away. Toni watched him go in confusion. That was it? Bill and James let the two men go and she followed suit, getting off of the man she had been holding hostage. Hostage. She was alive and she had just held a guy down. She felt that powerful, elated feeling return. Right now, she wasn't a scared little girl; she was as dangerous as the men around her. It was good. More than good to be in a position of power.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Joker had darted away, Toni was quick to follow, leaving Bill and James to watch Gambol's ex-goonies stab away at each other with a broken pool stick. As soon as the stick had hit the floor, she knew what Joker wanted them to do. And quite frankly, she didn't want to see that. Just thinking about it made her sick. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind just couldn't stop producing horrific and painful scenerios even as she followed behind the Joker, softly running to keep up with his brisk yet easy pace. She didn't have long enough legs to walk that fast.

She was going through an emotional rollar coaster. Being low and feeling like shit to being on a power high and then back down again. Now she was at a more mellow ground, as if she was unsure what she should be feeling now.

When she opened her eyes again, before her mind could fully process the fact that she was seeing again, Joker came to a very abrupt halt, whipped around too fast for Toni to fully stop before running into him.

She nearly crashed into his chest, only to be caught by his big gloved hands harshly gripping her arms. She let out a yelp as her brain caught up in time to register one phrase. 'Too close!' Her back stretched awkwardly as she leaned back away from him as far as she could, his hands pulling her so close that no matter how she twisted her body, she was still touching him.

"What?" Seriously. What was the deal?

"Did you notice that the uh _girl_ of our little Baseball team almost ran _away_?" She cringed as his hot breath touched her face. Clearly he didn't know what toothpaste was. She tried to keep the disgust from showing on her face when every horrid imperfection on his face came clear in her sight. The uneveness of his scars was visible now, even under his paint, for now she could see that the left one was longer and curled up like a grin. The right one was straighter and shorter. Two or so centimeters away was a circular scare, maybe caused by a severe cigarette burn. The red paint connected the two scars, making them one long scar.

The make-up was not only uneven and slaphazardly applied, but it also had bits of grit and smears of dirt. The colors meshed together sloppily, mixed by his sweat. Black bled into white and red and white made a pink ring around his red mouth. It was suffocating just thinking about it. Heavy, thick, dirty, greasey make-up covering his skin and blocking his pores. It looked itchy and uncomfortable, yet it was clear he'd had it on for days, not bothering to clean his face or even touch up the make-up when it was messed.

His teeth were a sickening yellow color, making her wonder if the world's supply of Crest whitening strips would ever be able to get those puppies clean. She held her breath so she didn't have to smell his.

She didn't dare look into his eyes.

So engrossed in his overpowering features, she barely heard him speak and was slow in her reply.

"Whassa matter? Nothing to say? _Freezing _up _again_?" She glared at him. But still she said nothing. She didn't freeze. She had doubts about him, about this. She hadn't even really wanted this. She was kidding, then all of a sudden here she was with her lifespan considerably shortened. She was scared of this man. His grip on her arms was becoming painful.

"But I didn't!"  
"No. No you didn't. And so my little boy-girl, I ask: Whhhy? What made you **not **run away like a lit-tle girl? What made you _jump_ that _poor _man?" When she gave him no answer, he shook her roughly.

"I-" She had no idea, but she tried to say something so he wouldn't shake her again. "Because I...I didn't want to...That is..." It was difficult collecting her thoughts when a crazy person was quite literally breathing down her neck. "I almost ran away because I was afraid I was gonna die. My life may suck but it's mine and I want to keep it damnit! Then Bill shouted at me, and I guess I reacted on instinct." Her voice took on a panic driven undertone. "I don't want to be weak and I'm tired of being at the end of the food chain...so...I knocked him down. " She was practically on the verge of crying and she was shouting now, her emotional well-being reaching a state of panic. The rollar coaster was going faster and faster. "And now I'm thinking I'm probably going to die anyway and whoever dies in that room we just left is partially my fault and I'm sorry! I wish I had just ran away, but even more I wish I never opened my mouth and I really wish you hadn't taken me! Why?! Why did you SAVE me? Why did you take me with you? What could I possibly have that you want?! And will you let me the fuck go!" She was screaming, a tear streaking down her cheek.

"Wo-ow." He licked his lips. "Wasn't expecting that. You just ranted a mile cupcake!" She huffed. Her hands pressing against his chest, his arms unrelenting, keeping her uncomfortably close. "To answer your ah...questions. I wasn't going to take you with me." He shook his head 'nope'. "You really don't look that...promising. But then that mean ol' brute was about to do away with you! And what can I say Sugar...you just loo**ked.**.._perfect._ That _fear_ in your eyes..the frantic desperate look people get when they _know_ their about to die. And well...Just couldn't let him do it. " He shrugged.

"Why though?" He sighed.

"I ju**st** _said_ why." He chewed the inside of his cheek.

"Because I of the way I looked? That makes no sense!"

"Sure it does. You're just not thinking big enough."

"What?" What in the world was he talking about? Big enough? Big enough for what?

"Ah! A new family member!" He let her go, which she was more than glad for. It was a relief to breath in fresh air instead of his body odor.

Bill and James along with a young black man wearing an expensive but messed suit strolled over to them. Joker looked the new guy over, chewed his scars thoughtfully then swiftly turned around and walked to the car. Toni followed, along with the three men.

Joker watched as everyone attempted to take their former seats in the car, the new guy settling for a seat in back next to Toni, who wasn't sure if she was happy to not have to sit next to Joker or not. She didn't know if this guy would be better or just as bad. Bill, assuming he was to be the driver again opened the driver's door. Joker let out a chuckle and shoved Bill out of his way.

"I wanna drive. The backseat is getting a lit-tle too crowded for my tastes. I don't-ah, do well with crowds and small spaces and, ah…" He looked to Toni with a smirk. "touching."

Toni rolled her eyes but remained otherwise unresponsive. Inwardly, however, she was fuming. Like she'd be the one doing the touching. After he had his hands all over her. He was ridiculous.

"Besides," he continued, "we're going somewhere special." He giggled sliding into the car and starting it up.

Toni ended up in the backseat between two men, James and the new guy, both of whom were sitting more closely than was necessary and staring down her shirt. She wanted to fold into herself and stop existing. She recognized the looks she was receiving as undoable want and lust. These kind of men, ones that wontanly examined a woman like a piece of meat, ones that had no problem working for a psycho would certainly have no problem in raping a woman. Thankfully they were afraid to touch her because they believed she belonged to their boss. That thought made her sick. She belonged to him specifically in the way an employee belonged to a boss. The other goons unfortuenately viewed her as the Joker's bitch.

Toni wasn't really sure at what point in the evening their lunatic boss had laid claim to her in such a way that the others were actually afraid to touch her, but it had obviously happened. They looked at her the way an animal would look at the alpha male's mate. With a desire they were far too frightened to indulge in.

The no touching was short lived, however, as Joker drove like the psycho he was. Stomping on the gas pedal, taking took turns hard and often without bothering to break causing the car to tilt and screech, sending Toni and the other two men to crash against each other. She had never been "accidently" groped so much in such a short span of time before.

The trip was longer than she would have liked, and she had gotten more intimate with the two men beside her than she ever wanted, but she couldn't help the strangely satisfied feeling of having being touched by them. Not for a sexual reason. She was not off limits becuase she was _not_ with the Joker. However that shouldn't suggest she was available to these goons, just she wasn't this skanky moll.

They finally arrived at an abandoned building. Possibly a factory or a warehouse at one point. It was high up and shaped like a giant cube with windows covering every floor like strips around the building. Some were broken, some were boarded, and some were just dirty.

Joker hopped out of the car, before he even bothered to put the thing it park, and it continued to roll forward until James was able to jump into the driver's seat and correct the situation. They had nearly rolled into the building before he managed to brake.

Toni had clutched the seat as the car slammed to a stop, not believing how utterly whacked the Joker was. Everyone got out of the car turned death trap by the Joker. Said lunatic was unlocking a huge lock connecting thick chains that probably weighed as much as Toni.

"Home sweet home!" The Joker giggled, sliding the heavy door open with a loud groaning of metal scrapping against metal and stepping inside. They stood there stunned for a moment, looking at each other, but no one spoke a word. They were all wondering if he was kidding about the "home" thing. He didn't really live here did he? And more importantly, did he want them to as well?

The new guy was the first to enter the building, clearly frightened of keeping the boss waiting. Not that Toni could blame him. Joker had after all killled his boss, and essentially forced him to fight his way through the people he had worked with for who knows how long and join his ranks.

Once inside, Toni really looked around. The floor was cement, the walls were streaked with dirt and grime. Cardboard, cigarette butts and beer bottles littered the floor. A rat or two could be seen scurrying about. Joker stood in the center of the room, looking rather pleased.

"This is my uh.._base of operations_ if you will." He motioned around the room. "If you want to crash here, be my guest. There isn't any running water or electricity though." He shrugged as if he didn't matter to him and it probably didn't Toni figured. He knew damn well that none of them had anyway else to go. Three of the current Joker's henchmen lineup were found in a crack den, and Toni doubted the new guy could go back to wherever he came from. So basically this is where they were going to stay, and the Joker would be somewhere else. Probably somewhere better. How very… typical.

"No worries, I'm sure there will be future improvements. Add-ons and upgrades." He licked his lips. "I'm sorry to leave you so… abruptly, but, ah, I have some_ business_ to attend to." He grinned, and turned on his heal, apparently intending to leave without any further explanation.

"Wait!" Toni heard herself call out, though she hadn't really intended to say anything at all. She was suddenly feeling very small and very worried. She couldn't stay in this place with these people. Not with the way they looked at her, and not without someone around to keep them in check. Sure, Toni knew how to take care of herself, but there were three of them, and one of her. Not to mention they were all a bit bigger than her. As much as it apalled her, being around the Joker made her feel safer. Sure what happened in the car was funny, albeit annoying. But actually being alone with these guys? Whether or not they thought she was the Joker's bitch, she would no doubt be violated.

Joker froze, but didn't bother turning around. He didn't bother asking what she wanted either, just stopped and waited for her to say something.

It was James who spoke. "Uh, sir, what are we supposed to do?" He seemed rather confused about everything that was going on, and it was a good question. Did he expect them to wait here for him until he decided he needed them? Was there a specific time he was planning on coming back? How were they getting paid? What the hell was going on?

A low chuckle sounded before they actually got an answer. "Do what you like, but be back here by tomorrow night, I may have use for you." There was a smile in his voice as though he was planning something. "Toni?" He asked, obviously mocking her. She had called for him to wait, but hadn't actually addressed him since. Now with the way he said her name she didn't really want to ask what she was supposed to do with all these guys.

"Hm?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't bother asking her what it was she wanted.

He stood with his back to them for a few more moments, not saying anything, but waiting, though Toni didn't really know what for. "Toni." He said again, but this time it wasn't really a question. He was calling her, like a master called his dog.

"What?" She asked more obstinately. Just because she was a woman, she wasn't going to tolerate being treated like this.

Joker turned back to face her, eyes slightly narrow, and walked up to her as though she were about to be scolded for not obeying orders. He grabbed her chin in his hand and lifted her face to look at him. "When I call you, you come."

"Ok.." Despite what she felt inside, which was extreme annoyance at being treated like a dog, she just couldn't back talk with him so close. He was creepy. Scary. And he would get right in her face and it would completely unerve her and he knew it.

He didn't respond, just looked at her as though he had just noticed something. His head tilted to the side in amusement as he stared into her eyes, bouncing back between her right eye and then her left eye as though comparing the two. Toni knew what he was looking at. Her left eye was green while her right was blue. He must have just noticed and found it weirdly amusing for whatever reason. He smiled, almost sweetly then pinched her cheeks, and gave them a little slap. She glared at him, but said nothing.

"Come." He commanded. The kind of one word command you give a dog to make sure it understands. Great. So now she wasn't only his pet, but she was his idiot pet. This was just getting better and better. He turned away once more and walked out with Toni following slowly behind him, silently fuming at her unfair treatment.

He hopped back into the car, and Toni was reluctant to follow. The look he fixed her with, however, left no room for argument. She slid into the passanger's side and put on her seat belt. She sat quietly hoping the trip would be over sooner rather than later. He seemed to drive aimlessly for awhile, before parking the car in a lot that seemed to belong to some run down apartment building. At least this was better than that old factory warehouse place. Again he didn't bother to put the thing in park, but they were going slow enough that the wheels couldn't make it over the various rocks and broken slabs of concrete to hit the building.

Toni jumped out of the car as quickly as she could, relieved to be done with driving for the day. Joker left it running and walked away. It was a nice car, and left running like that it would be no real surprise if someone took it. In a place like this, it would be a miracle if the car was still there in an hour, but she figured that was just Joker's way of getting away with stealing the thing in the first place. He wouldn't be pinned with taking it, if someone else was caught with it.

He hopped along through an alleyway away from the small apartment building, and Toni followed along, frustrated at not knowing what was going on, and annoyed that she'd been led to believe that they had an actual place to stay. They continued their walk in silence for about a block before Toni was so fed up with not knowing what was going on that she couldn't take it any longer.

"Where the hell are we going?" She grumbled miserably. She wanted to scream, but that tactic just seemed to amuse him, and she really didn't feel like being toyed with anymore than she already was.

"Hold your horses, sweet cheeks. We're almost there." He turned and looked over his shoulder at her as he spoke, but rather than looking at her, his eyes seemed to lock with the bruise on her cheek as the pet name fell from his mouth. On impulse, Toni found herself probing the her sore cheek. The way he had looked at it bothered her, it seemed almost concerned, but the mocking in his voice made it clear that he was only reminding her of her place. Still she couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had taken her away from all those men to make sure she didn't get hurt. It was ridiculous, and obviously untrue but she thought it anyway. She realized then that that way of thinking had gotten her into more than a few bad situations. She had a bad habit of thinking that crazy men really only meant her the best, even if they had a strange way of showing it. She winced as she touched a particularly tender spot on her cheek. No, he definitely wasn't looking out for her.

He continued skipping down the alley. It stank of old piss and Chinese food from last November, but she wasn't going to complain. She's slept in places that smelled worse. Hell Joker himself smelled worse, and she had a feeling they'd be sleeping in relatively close quarters. She sighed and continued following him as he walked. He took turns that led them in circles giving the illusion that he was either lost or had no real place in mind. Neither would have surprised Toni at this point, but she was tired and annoyed and seriously starting to consider just ducking into one of the trash bins and forgetting everything that had happened.

"Here we are!" He exclaimed suddenly gesturing to a building that seemed to be falling apart. It was made of bricks that were chipping away, and there was a huge sign out front that obviously used to be something magnificent. Now it was just a bunch of broken glass and old wires. They were standing at the side of the building near a broken emergency exit, so she couldn't tell with any kind of certainty what the place used to be, but it looked like it had been a nice place once.

Joker pushed the door open slightly, but there was a lock and chain keeping it from being pushed open enough to walk through. He pulled out another key and unlocked it, pushing the heavy door aside as it scraped against the ground and screetched in protest. Toni followed him inside, squeezing past him as he hovered in the doorway. He touched her as she walked passed, pushed her aside, but his hand seemed to fondle her a bit as he did so. She sighed in annoyance. She just couldn't seem to get away from all the groping. She leaned against a wall and waited while he locked back up. Obviously the guy was paranoid. It was dark inside, and it smelled strange. There was the ever present smell of urine, rotting food, and rat, but there was also a familiar smell Toni couldn't really place. It wasn't altogether bad, but it did seem strange for a place so dark and obviously abandoned.

The Joker seemed to fiddle around with the door for longer than was necessary and then shuffled over to the wall to fiddle with something there that Toni couldn't see in the darkness. There were a few clicking noises and then the sound of metal scraping against metal followed by a dull 'clank'.

"Let there be light!" Joker commanded to some invisible audience, and then there was light. It flickered on and off for a moment before the electric actually flowed smoothly with a light hum. Looking around in the newly illuminated building Toni could see that it was actually an old theater building. The familiar smell she couldn't place was popcorn and stale candy. He led her into one of the old theaters, apparently his favorite since it was marked with a welcome mat. He walked across the sticky floor and plopped down on one of the old chairs. The place was littered with cobwebs and dust seemed to float around everywhere catching the light, and making the room seem almost foggy. There was a projector running, but no film. It produced a flickering light in the room, coupled with a quiet clinking as the machine struggled to opperate. The screen had taken on a slightly yellowish color, and there were tears and rips that would have broken the image if a film were actually being played. The seats all dipped in at the center from use, and the cushioning bulged and leaked out of the seams.

There were old popcorn containers and smashed soda cups littering the floor with candy wrappers and dirt. It looked very much like the kind of place Joker would call home. Strangely, Toni couldn't bring herself to actually sit in one of the seats. She'd made a habit of sleeping in dumpsters when she had to, but this place just seemed to dirty. So she stood awkwardly in the isle waiting for whatever strangeness was bound to come next.

"Since I am letting you stay here out of the uh," He chuckled. "Kindness of my heart.." He looked at her with his piercing eyes, more defined by the black syrrounding them, making them look cruel. "You'll keep your damn mouth shut about this place."

All Toni could do was nod. Hell, like she would want anyone to know about this decrepite theater. As of right now it was a sancturary just as much for her as for him.

Ah Jesus. She was bunking with a crazed lunatic that had a clown fetish. Life just did not get weirder than this.


End file.
